


More

by starstruck1986



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-06-07 21:16:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6824668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starstruck1986/pseuds/starstruck1986
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Only one drug makes it better, and he wants more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings / Content: BDSM, D/s relationship, angst, touches of hurt/comfort.

Every inch of him ached. Charlie rolled his head in a circle and winced at the pain.

  
It shouldn't have surprised him – he'd been pushed to the very edges of his limits the night before, and that was saying something because generally he didn't _have_ limits.  
  
Charlie pulled his coat more snugly around his body and shivered a little. He remembered the exact moment he'd realised he might need to give his safe word a special outing. It wasn't just the physical side of the game but also the mental exhaustion which came from sparring in their special way which had tempted him.  
  
With the realisation came prickles of heat all over his body and extra effort needed to keep himself upright. He could have let his legs collapse beneath him but that would have strained his arms – they hurt enough having been tied above his head for what felt like hours.  
  
Charlie pressed the button on the traffic light and waited to cross the road; all he could think about was how good it had felt despite the safe word nearly slipping out. As it turned out, he hadn't needed it – it had just been known that he'd had enough. He was embarrassed to remember the grateful sobs which had leaked out when his gag was removed and life was massaged back into his arms.  
  
A bus hurtled past and made him jump as he was so lost in the fog of memories from the night before. They'd fallen asleep tangled together; he'd woken early and crept out of the flat to get into work.  
  
He hated his job. He was simply not built to sit behind a desk as a pencil pusher. Occasionally he got to leave the office and breathe fresh air but not nearly often enough. Nothing at all compared to his time in Romania where he could have to camp in the mountains, without magic and no company, sometimes for days. Nesting dragons. He missed the convenience of their broodiness and that it kept him apart from other humans. There'd been no office gossip, no formality to anything except dragon care and nobody cared if he turned up with the same clothes on from the day before.  
  
It had been a massive culture shock to limp into the Ministry after being unemployed for three months. His recovery had been slow but he'd been injured so badly that he'd been told in confidence by Bill that none of them thought he'd come back from it. But time and rest had healed his body as far as it could – neither could heal the fact that his position in Romania had gone to someone else, and even if it hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to physically cope with the work.  
  
Bill had got him the interview in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. His official title was 'Welfare Officer', which meant balancing the reality of trying to ensure the safety of magical creatures whilst obeying the Ministry's need to control them and their existence. He hated it. He'd been party to seeing countless innocent animals put to sleep for no reason. He'd cried the first time, finding the first private place he could to lose control. Charlie hoped he had improved since then – it was nearly a year – but it didn't hurt any less to have to facilitate needless death.  
  
As if reminding him of its presence and the reason why he was heading for the Ministry rather than waking up on a forest floor, his right leg suddenly seized and he stumbled into the road. A car slammed on the brakes and honked at him, the irate driver screaming something that he couldn't hear. Charlie held his hands up in apology and managed to get back to the pavement. The man shouted a little longer before sticking his foot down and angrily accelerating off. Charlie watched him go with a sinking feeling in his chest. It was going to be one of _those_ days. It was those days which had caused him to seek out the sort of pleasures he'd sampled the evening before. Even though it seemed daft to look for pain to replace pain, it felt good and he craved it.  
  
Normally he didn't go back for more two nights running, but he already knew that when he knocked off for the day, he wouldn't be going home. He'd be going for more.  
  
***  
  
Several mugs of coffee and an overly large gulp of a painkilling potion later, Charlie sat at his desk trying to make sense of some scrawled notes from a week before. He was terrible at keeping up with his paperwork. In the Reserve, nobody fucking cared about paperwork. In the Ministry you were facing a disciplinary if you even questioned the need for it.  
  
A voice which sounded suspiciously like Percy said something about necessary red tape in his mind. Charlie sighed and took that moment to look up and glance around the room. It was only himself and a colleague he didn't really know very well in the office. The other wizard was engrossed in a document which had arrived a few minutes before. Charlie knew he was unobserved. He pushed aside his report and put the nib to a fresh piece of parchment.  
  
'Can I come again tonight?  
  
CW'  
  
There was no need to embellish it. The recipient would know exactly what he was asking for. He folded the letter and stuffed it in an envelope. He would post it at lunch time and hope for an answer before the clock hit five. That way he could go directly there rather than have to go back to The Burrow beforehand. He wasn't in the mood for his mother.  
  
He desperately needed his own space, but he had spent his wages on alcohol and cigarettes and never given a thought for his invalid, England-bound future. That meant that since the accident and his release from hospital he'd been living back with his parents. Bill couldn't offer him a room in Shell Cottage when he had two children there and a third on the way. Charlie would never have asked anyway. Percy had no spare room, George was freshly married and Ron barely had room for his own family, let alone another. Ginny undoubtedly had the space, but Charlie was too proud to ask it of her. She and Harry rattled around Grimmauld Place like mice in a palace.  
  
He was too proud to take her charity, but not too proud to move back into his childhood bedroom. It still smelt the same – of sneaky cigarettes and Bill's terrible adolescent aftershave.  
  
At least by going again, he would get a night in a proper adult's apartment, with a bed that didn't fire springs into his spine when he turned over. If he was allowed to turn over, that was.  
  
Charlie couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought of that. It was a power play. He felt so helpless given everything which had happened to him – it was nice to actually _be_ helpless. To have someone control his every move. Every bodily function. Every breath, on some occasions.  
  
He shuddered a little where he sat.  
  
“Weasley, do you have a second?”  
  
He started in surprise and his kneecaps slammed into the underside of his desk. His right leg erupted in fire. Tears sprung up in his eyes.  
  
“Yes,” he gasped, thinking it was better to say something than nothing at all.  
“We could use your opinion on something, you're the dragon expert around here.”  
“You need help with dragons?” he asked hopefully, his love betraying the necessary need to be unimpressed by the amateur dragon keepers of the United Kingdom. He reached down and rubbed his knee.  
  
“You could say that,” his boss replied with a grin.  
  
***  
  
All the talk of dragons had calmed his blood slightly. As the clock tipped over to strike five – home time – he felt much better than the man who had sent a desperate owl off earlier that day.  
  
He was trying his best not to be too disheartened that there hadn't been a reply.  
  
Charlie swung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his coat. Dragons meant that the idea of going home and facing his mother wasn't too unpalatable. He was sure he could make it through the night.  
  
“Charlie?”  
  
He was halfway through the door when his name was called.  
  
“Sorry, I meant to give this to you earlier, but I got taken into a meeting about bloody Bowtruckle breeding. Stupid, twiggy little fucks!”  
  
Unable to keep his snort of laughter in, Charlie leant against the door frame.  
  
“It came earlier by owl. Have a nice night.”  
  
Charlie grinned his thanks and turned, ripping open the envelope as he went. He shook open the letter and held his breath. Good news or bad news, he had a reply.  
  
_'Two nights running? My, my. Be here at six on the dot. You know the punishment if you are late.'_  
  
He was suddenly shivering with anticipation. There was an hour to kill before he could make his way to a night of bliss. His fingers began to shake.  
  
***  
  
“I wasn't expecting this.”  
  
Charlie kept silent, his eyes trained on the floor.  
  
“You've never come back two nights running. Answer me. Why are you here?”  
  
Not looking up, Charlie replied, “Because I need it.”  
  
There was a sigh from above him and for the first time that evening he had to fight to stay submissive. He needed to see the wizard's expression to see where he stood.  
  
“That's what I was afraid of.” He heard footsteps getting further and further away, and then a slight groan on sitting. Charlie stayed where he was, his mangled leg burning wildly in his kneeling position. Even his good leg was starting to numb. He was loathed to move, though, and ruin any remaining chance he had.  
  
“When we started this, I told you it was merely for the amusement of us both. That it would be nothing more.”  
“I know that-” Charlie replied, forgetting himself.  
“Hush!” The rebuke was harsh. “I did not ask you to speak. But you no longer want this – you _need_ this, and that is something very different.”  
  
He opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. Charlie stayed where he was, trying hard to keep his focus on the floor.  
  
“You're a beautiful creature, Charlie, and Merlin knows I've enjoyed pushing you to your limit, but I won't be more to you than a bit of fun.”  
“Then it's just a bit of fun.”  
  
He cursed at himself internally – he was so terrible at keeping his mouth shut. It was fine when it was earning him more punishment, but in situations like this he knew he was doing himself very few favours.  
  
“You know that's not true.”  
  
It wasn't. Charlie didn't bother to pretend otherwise.  
  
Suddenly, he felt foolish: his legs hurt far too much and he wanted nothing else than to have a hot bath and go to bed.  
  
“Get up, you lump.”  
  
Though he resented being called a lump, Charlie ungracefully managed to stagger to his feet using the arm of a nearby sofa. As the blood started to flow south he held his breath as his eyes flooded with tears just as they had done in his office earlier in the day.  
  
“Come here.” The summons was soft. “Have a seat. You must be in pain.”  
  
He didn't need to be asked twice. He limped over and sat down as carefully as he could so as not to cause more pain.  
  
“Why do you come here when you end up in pain?”  
“Isn't that the point for a lot of people?”  
“When we started this you assured me you were in it for kicks – for pleasure. Not pain.”  
“So pain can't be pleasure?”  
“Not without considering the true meaning and consequences.”  
“And that's what you want me to do?”  
  
There was no direct response to that. Charlie waited, but there was only a summoning spell for wine and glasses. He took one when it was offered to him, taking several grateful gulps to moisten his throat.  
  
Eventually the silence stretched on so long that he felt compelled to break it.  
  
“I'm sorry to disappoint you.”  
“You haven't. Not truly. I suppose there are very few people who can partake in this without forming an attachment to it, without growing to need the fix it gives them. I certainly can't. But that's why I can't do this with you – because I have my own need for the power trip this gives me, and with a willing subject... someone who _needs_ to be controlled to feel something... that could lead to catastrophe.”  
“I don't care.”  
“But I do.”  
  
Charlie sipped at his wine again and looked at the fire. “So this is over?”  
“I'm afraid it is.”  
  
He fought hard against the burning in his throat, but still had to choke out, “This is the only good thing in my life.”  
  
There was another sigh, and though he did not expect it, Severus Snape's warm hand landing on his injured leg was a welcome move.  
  
“And that, too, is another reason why this can't continue.”  
“I'll beg,” Charlie said shamelessly. “I'll beg. I'll humiliate myself. I'll let you humiliate me in public if that's what you want. But please, Gods, don't stop this. Please.”  
“I don't want you to beg, Charlie. It would not become you.”  
“Then please, what can I do?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Don't do this to me?” He implored. He was already begging.  
  
He threw caution to the wind and, despite his injuries, threw himself on his knees at Severus' feet. Charlie made himself look up and meet the older wizard's eyes. He wrapped his hands around thin calf muscles.  
  
“So what if it's not about... what we've done before?”  
  
Severus stared at him, waiting for more.  
  
“What if it's just normal sex? Or us going out for dinner?”  
“I am not in need of a partner.”  
“You're lying, I know you are. I've seen the look in your eyes just before you send me packing out of the door.”  
“Moments of weakness on my part, they mean nothing. They are the same with every other man that walks through the door.”  
  
Charlie balked at that. For some reason he'd assumed he was the only one.  
  
“You think you're the only one who kneels in front of me? The only man whose insides I have soaped with the enema tubes? The only man I have made sob with want?”  
“I hoped I was.” Charlie blinked fiercely and hated the fact that his cheeks were glowing with heat. “I suppose that was stupid.”  
“Very much so.”  
  
Sinking back on his heels, Charlie let out a whimper of pain.  
  
“I think you should leave now,” Severus advised. “There is no point in continuing this discussion. I ask you not to return again. It's over.”  
  
Charlie staggered to his feet once more. He felt dizzy and weak. He hated feeling weak.  
  
He collected his bag from the floor. Even the weight of it was too much. He was going to break and he needed to get somewhere safe – somewhere private. But instead of moving for the door, he turned and bent down. He couldn't help it – he had to try. He kissed Severus Snape for the first time in months of acquaintance. His thin lips were cool and smooth.  
  
To Charlie's very great surprise, he wasn't hexed through the air to land on his arse, but was kissed back. One hand rose to hold the nape of his neck.  
  
When they reached a natural pause, they separated only by millimetres. Charlie stayed close, too scared of ruining the moment and being sent away. He nudged his nose alongside Severus' own. They both seemed equally moved by the moment.  
  
Charlie observed dark eyelashes skimming gentle lilac circles beneath Severus' eyes. He looked tired. Suddenly he wanted to know why the wizard looked so weary. What he had been doing all day.  
  
They knew nothing of each other, other than the commands, the whip, the steady thrum of adrenaline.  
  
What did he want with someone he knew nothing of?  
  
“Charlie...” Severus whispered his name and it sounded so wonderful he could have moaned aloud. “This is foolish.”  
  
Charlie ignored him, and kissed him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie considers himself damaged goods - but Severus doesn't care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings / Content: BDSM, D/s relationship, plugs, gags, angst, touches of hurt/comfort, major injury.

Charlie thought he shouldn't have been surprised that they'd not managed to keep it at 'normal' sex. They'd been out for dinner three times and after each he'd found himself being put through his paces by Severus, panting and howling and crying out for more.

He had truly become a pain junkie at the older wizard's hands.

He stood exhausted with his arms strung up to the ceiling, pulling his body up so that he had been balanced on his toes for what felt like forever. His ankles were spread by a metal bar. His right leg was in agony, he was sweating like a pig and he was starting to lose both patience and resolve. Severus was watching him through narrowed eyes so it must have shown.

“Enough?”

Charlie kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to be the one to call an end to it.

Gentle fingers trailed along the length of his shaft, which had started to soften with tiredness. He almost purred until Severus suddenly slapped it at short range, causing it to bob in the air. Severus stalked around him then, grabbing his bum cheeks and prising them apart. Charlie clenched around the plug he was wearing, hoping to Godric it wouldn't fall out. That had happened before and he was way too tired for the sort of punishment he'd earned the first time.

Severus startled a moan out of him by yanking the plug out and then slamming it back into his body, working up a quick rhythm whilst Charlie could barely stay on his feet. He only realised when there was another touch to his dick that Severus must have charmed the plug to move on its own, because he was suddenly there, in front of him, sporting an evil smirk and a glint in his eye.

“Fuuuuck.” Charlie whined the word and closed his eyes, breaking into a series of sobs when he ran out of letters. “Severus...”  
“Mm?” Severus paused in his suddenly thorough inspection of Charlie's foreskin. “What? What do you want, Charlie?”  
“Iwannacome.”

If anything, the plug seemed to be speeding up as it slipped in and out of his body. He could also have sworn it was getting larger but as it kept taking his breath away, he couldn't really ask.

Severus reached up and touched his lips, before slipping four of his fingers into Charlie's mouth to be sucked. Charlie had learnt quickly that Severus had a severe fetish for stuffing things into his mouth – fingers, toes, cocks, gags, balled up underwear and once, an apple, which he had been dared to keep precariously between his teeth and not fully bite else face the consequences. One finger rubbed against the back of his tongue and Charlie fought hard against his gag reflex but didn't quite manage to reign it in. His throat constricted and he choked on the digits. He saw Severus actually shiver in response. The fingers were removed and tickled down his chest, leaving trails of his saliva behind them. Eventually they wrapped back around his cock again and started to stroke him in earnest.

There wasn't a lot that Charlie could do but stand there and take it and hope that he'd actually be able to come. Since their dinners, something had shifted between them. They were not playing as master and slave any more, merely dominant and submissive. Severus had let him orgasm both nights thus far, where as before he had been denied and had been expected to fight it off. Severus seemed to have moved on from that expectation.

Suddenly dizzy, Charlie sucked in deep breaths through his mouth which quickly turned into pants of desperation. Severus leant forward and, before Charlie registered what was happening, bit down hard on the juncture between neck and shoulder.

Charlie's orgasm was over as quickly as it had begun. He spilt into Severus' hand and it just seemingly burnt itself out in seconds. He'd been hoping for more - needed more.

Severus' filthy hand came up and, as it often did, smeared his semen into his face and lips. Charlie really wasn't a fan of that particular move, but he obediently opened his mouth and tasted some of it from his lover's skin. One again fingers slipped onto his tongue and he sucked on them, trying to ignore the salty taste and slimy texture.

He really wasn't a fan of come.

Eventually Severus pulled back and surveyed him.

“You look shattered.” Severus was reproachful in tone. “I left you too long.”  
“I'm fine,” Charlie said, but even he could hear how faint he sounded.

Severus slowly released him from the spreader bar and brought down his arms with such tenderness that Charlie felt he could quite have easily have wept at the touch – he didn't, but only for the sake of saving face. The last thing to go was the plug, even though it had long since stopped fucking him, and Charlie rolled his neck in a circle. When it cracked Severus' breath hitched and he shuddered.

“I'm fine,” Charlie repeated, flashing him a smile. “I'd just really like to lie down now?”

Severus nodded and took him by the hand, leading him out of the spare room towards the bedroom. It was warm and the bed looked so inviting that Charlie just dropped into it and moaned happily.

However, Severus didn't climb in next to him. Instead the wizard knelt at the foot of the bed and put his hands to the mangled mess of Charlie's right leg. With gentle, probing fingers, he began to massage it.

“Yesssssssss.” Charlie hissed between his teeth. “Oh god.”  
“I don't know how you bear it,” Severus admitted. “It must be excruciating.”  
“It is,” Charlie whispered. “But there's nothing to be done with it. Except chop it off but nobody will listen to me about that.”  
“You won't find any Healers in this country that would deal in amputation.”  
“I know. I'd have to go to the Muggles and their methods...”  
“Do you really think about it?” Severus asked, clearly unnerved by the whole topic.

Charlie looked down at the melted flesh and thought about how much it all hurt – from his hip to his toes, and nodded. “I do. There's no saving it. I'm basically just dragging around a rotting column. They've pretty much agreed that the muscles will never be strong again, and that if I can walk on it, I'm lucky.”

Severus' fingers began to rub in deep, slow circles over his quadriceps. “So why do you tolerate being strung up like that?”  
“My arms have always been my strongest point. They can take a lot of the slack, so I let them.”  
“Still... I wouldn't like to hurt you in a way you didn't want to be hurt. If it's ever too much...”  
“I'll tell you,” Charlie promised earnestly. “Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hide it at my worst. I trust you to see the signs.”

Severus nodded and kept on working his thumbs into Charlie's thigh.

“What time is it?” Charlie asked, realising he was quite chilly.  
“Oh, god knows, something past midnight probably. We both have to work tomorrow.”  
“Then come to bed.” Charlie patted the empty mattress next to him. “I want to hold you.”

That was another thing that had changed with three measly dinners. Severus was allowing the roles to reverse in places – such as allowing himself to be held and cuddled in bed rather than always insisting on the opposite.

Charlie mourned the lovely touch to his sore leg, but Severus gracefully dropped into the bed next to him, pulled the duvet up over them both and extinguished all but one of the candles. Immediately a sense of calm and peace stole over Charlie's body.

He kicked himself as he spoke, letting loaded words out into the world. “You said you didn't want this. A relationship. That you didn't need it. What about the others?”  
“They're of no consequence. They were just an amusement. Fleeting amusements.”  
“Is that what you thought I was?”  
“Yes.”

That hurt.

Severus sighed and turned on his side.

“But there are occasions where I can bear being proved wrong, you know.”

Smiling, Charlie rolled his head to the left to look at him.

“What changed your mind?”  
“You were persistent, I suppose. And... you are frankly one of the most beautiful men I've ever laid eyes on. If you ever repeat that, I will kill you.”  
“Noted.”

Charlie closed his eyes as a warm hand smoothed over his belly and rubbed the fur there.

“Can I ask you something, Charlie?”  
“Anything you want.”  
“Why do you do it?”  
“Do what?”  
“Come to me and submit. Let yourself be belittled like that.”  
“I don't view it as being belittled... it's not about humiliation.”  
“Then why do it?”  
“Why do you do it?”  
“Stop it, you said I could ask you anything. Don't turn it back on me.”

Charlie sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. “I guess I like being punished. Out of control. Or at least, in control of being out of control.”  
“Why do you like being punished?”

He had no answer for that. “I guess it feels good.”  
“I'd find it torturous.”  
“Look, I dunno. It just feels great and there's a sort of peace to it. Escape. Not being in control. Just wanting to hand over all the responsibility to someone else. And have to do whatever they say, even if it is humiliating. I've been humiliated. I've been forced to leave a job because of injury and experienced my old colleagues and friends laughing at me. I know they're laughing at me because I laughed at people like them in the past.”

Charlie shrugged. “I don't know what else to tell you.”

“Well, if there's nothing else to tell... you don't actually have to tell me anything at all of course. None of my business.”  
“Were you hoping that you'd uncover some dirt?” Charlie asked playfully, raising his eyebrows. “Something sordid? Oh, Morgana's tits, you're not one of these people who believes you can only like being tied up and bossed about if you're intrinsically fucked up, are you?” He made a face. “That we all have to have something dark and disturbing in the past?”  
“Do you have anything dark and disturbing in your past?” Severus was suddenly close to him, the corners of his mouth curling up with a smirk.

The question shouldn't have unsettled him – after all, hadn't Charlie started the banter?

But the reality was different.

“I've said the wrong thing. I apologise.”

Gentle fingers stroked his chest hair and Charlie took a deep breath.

“Sorry. I shouldn't have gone there. You're tired.”  
“S'fine.” Charlie blinked at the ceiling. “I guess no matter how hard you feel you've dealt with something, it can always creep up on you when you're least expecting it.”  
“Mm.” Severus agreed. “It can.”

Charlie tried to enjoy the gentle kiss which was pressed against is lips. Severus was close, his head propped up on his hand which exposed his armpit. The smell was so strong his eyes nearly watered. Suddenly he felt properly exhausted and dirty. He wanted to have a bath and sleep for a long time.

He certainly didn't want to be thinking about things he forced himself never to think about – things that he'd been too young at the time to understand. And he really didn't want to wonder if it was the reason why he loved participating in a touch of BDSM.

“I think I should go,” he whispered.

Severus looked down at him, clearly hurt. “Of course. It's late. I shouldn't have kept you.”  
“It's not you.”

He winced at Severus' dry laugh and genuinely regretted what he'd said when the man rolled away and got up. He watched Severus cross the room and shrug into a dressing gown. Deft hands belted it at the waist and then the older wizard left the room completely.

Charlie breathed out and mentally kicked himself. They'd had a lovely night and he'd ruined it.

And this is why you should never think about it.

With moan he forced himself to sit up and get out of the bed. His leg immediately began to throb and as it took his weight properly he stumbled. He knew he was going over but Charlie didn't bother to throw his hands out to save himself; he landed on the bedroom carpet with an almighty crash which made the bedside table wobble. A glass of water which had been on it fell off the side and splashed over him.

“Son of a bitch,” he whispered. He reached up and put his hands over his face.

He heard quick footsteps and closed his eyes behind his fingers.

“Charlie, are you -”

Severus didn't bother to finish but knelt down beside him, putting one hand on Charlie's chest.

“What happened?”  
“Fell down.” Charlie kept his hands over his face.  
“You think?” Severus grunted slightly as he shifted his weight between his feet. “Fancy getting up?”  
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I think I'll just stay here. Leave me be. You won't even notice me.”

Severus chortled to himself before sighing. “Come on. Let's get you upright.”

Charlie kept his eyes closed, mostly to try and ignore the shame coursing through him as Severus took his hands and pulled him to his feet. His leg gave way again and he ended up clutching his arms around Severus' waist to avoid landing face-first on the carpet.

“Fuck's sake.”

The pain was the worst he'd felt it for some time. Being strung up had clearly done him no favours at all. Even the drowsy buzz he got from the whole charade had gone completely from his veins.

“Charlie.” Severus tucked some hair behind Charlie's ear. “You're not going anywhere tonight. You're going to stay here and let me look after you.”

Sniffing at the sudden burning sensation in his nose and throat, Charlie stared down at the melted flesh of the top of his foot. He could just make out the remains of the ink which had covered the whole of his lower leg, ankle and instep. Once upon a time he'd been proud of it.

Gentle hands smoothed down his arms and squeezed.

“Charlie?”  
“Mm?”  
“The people who say that you have to be fucked up to enjoy what we do. They don't see this part. The part where two people genuinely look after one another, and care for each other, and make sure the other is safe. And well.”  
“Think you're going to have to work overtime if you want to achieve the 'well' part, Severus.”  
“Perhaps. Come on. I'll make you a cup of tea and get some chocolate in you, find some painkiller and perhaps... some Dreamless Sleep?”  
“That obvious?”

A thumb reached up to touch the sizeable lilac shadow under his eye.

“I don't care, Charlie.”  
“About what?”  
“Whether you've got dark secrets. Baggage. We all do.”  
“Three weeks ago you told me to leave and not come back. You didn't want to know. Why the one-eighty?”

Severus just stared at him. “Maybe I was talking out of my backside before.”

Charlie let the side of his mouth hitch up as all the smile he could muster.

“Come on.” Severus took his hand.  
“I do have something fucked up in my past. And it's fucked up that I want to chop my own leg off. And I am a very fucked up person, Severus.”

“Me too. It's all right, Charlie.”


End file.
